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From
Stormie:
Flowers (a following directions
activity): Provide children with small circles, squares, ovals, rectangles,
etc, that have holes punched in the centers. Allow them to choose several
shapes (example: all circles, or different shapes). Show them how to stack
their shapes together and place a brad through the center pre-punched holes.
Then, by folding (or cupping) the layers, they can form a sort of 3-D flower.
They can then glue their flowers onto "painted green" craft stick stems and add
leaves.
Arches National Park: Show pictures of this most beautiful natural place to the children then provide strips of construction paper in colors of orange, gold, and red. Show them how they can create their own three-dimensional arches by gluing just the ends of their strips on paper. (I like to fold a tab on the strip ends in advance as this will make them stay glued down.) During grouptime, discuss our national park system--how it started and how/why we should take care of our beautiful parks (on a preschooler level of understanding, of course).
Handprint
Sand Crabs: (From Donna King, Roxboro, North Carolina): Make a beach
background (I've used blue paper at the top for water and brown paper at the bottom
for sand). Then, have the children dip their hands in paint, placing them
on the paper one at a time. The right hand goes on the right side of the
paper (thumb up), and the left hand goes on the left side (also thumb up).
The palms should be touching--on the paper--not as you do it. The fingers
are the legs; the thumbs are the eye parts.
Under
the Sea: (From Kathi, in Maryland): Open up a clear plastic
trash can liner so that it's a large flat sheet. Cut out lots of fish from
construction paper (also crabs, coral, star fish, clams, seaweed, etc).
Glue these items onto the clear plastic then hang it from the ceiling using a
long branch or stick depending on the size of the sheet of plastic.
Palm
Tree: (From Kim): Hi Stormie, For a jungle/rainforest theme, we made
a palm tree: In the center of a 2 x 4 sheet of 3/4 inch plywood with rounded corners,
we attached a conduit bracket and then screwed 3 feet of conduit pipe into it.
In the hole of the conduit, we placed a child sized umbrella (the kind that
has a straight as opposed to a hooked handle). We secured the umbrella in
with duck tape around umbrella handle (to make a tight fit) and then over both
the conduit and the handle together. Over all that, we put wood grain mac
tac. On top of the umbrella we have a meter+ piece of green felt, cut in
a curved fashion (like a palm tree) and then pieces of other shades of green felt,
cut into leaf shapes (I sewed in leaf veins for more detail, just sewn on randamly).
It sits next to our book shelf with a few pillows under it. The children
use it everyday. The beauty is that when you need a change, the pipe unscrews
and you can put the umbrella "down," and fold away the green top --
very storage friendly.
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from Stormie: If you would like to begin collecting ALL my current classroom
ideas (each on a 4 x 6" index card), as well as new ones that I create, you
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